Drilling is the process by which a well bore is created to extract a fluid from the earth. Generally, a well bore is drilled into the earth using a drill string comprising a drill bit attached to the lower end of a rotating drill pipe. A drilling fluid is circulated down the center of the drill string and up through the annulus between the drill pipe and the walls of the well bore. The drilling fluid picks up the drilled cuttings (cuttings), which are pieces of dirt and rock that are broken off of the bottom of the well bore by the drill bit, and carries the cuttings to the surface. Once at the surface, the cuttings are separated from the drilling fluid so that the drilling fluid can be recirculated through the drill string. The separated cuttings are prepared and/or transported for disposal.
Disposal of cuttings is particularly challenging when drilling offshore. The cuttings are frequently coated with oil, thus it is not preferable to dump the cuttings into the water for environmental reasons. However, loading the cuttings onto a ship for disposal on land is expensive and also entails an additional degree of risk. Therefore, offshore drilling platforms frequently employ a cuttings reinjection (CRI) process to dispose of the cuttings. Key to the CRI process is size reduction of cuttings implemented by one or more grinding pumps located on a CRI skid. The grinding pump(s) grind and classify the cuttings into small particles cuttings with seawater or other suitable fluid to create a cuttings slurry. This cuttings slurry is then injected into a subsurface formation adjacent to the well bore via a dedicated disposal well, or through the annulus of the well being drilled. Unfortunately, the addition of the CRI skid to the offshore drilling platform utilizes a significant amount of valuable space on a drilling platform. In addition, the CRI skid requires additional personnel and other resources to operate the CRI skid. It would be preferable if the CRI process could be integrated with another process, thereby decreasing the overall personnel and resources required to operate the offshore drilling platform. Consequently, a need exists for a method for integrating a CRI process with another process on an offshore drilling platform in order to minimize the consumption of space, personnel, and other resources.